Vehicle for handling containers of varying lengths

ABSTRACT

A container-handling device, which may be mounted on a suitable vehicle, comprising a pair of adjustable arms with locking devices on the lower and inside surfaces thereof for positively holding the containers to the device.

United States Patent Janoff 294/67(.2B)X Fesmire et a]. 294/67(.4A)X

Harris 214/620 Quayle 294/67(.2B)X Chase et a1 294/67(.2B)X

Meister, Jr 214/620 Kennedy 214/620UX Levitt 214/621 Vik 214/62OXGrigsby 214/620 ABSTRACT: A container-handling device, which may bemounted on a suitable vehicle, comprising a pair of adjustable arms withlooking devices on the lower and inside surfaces thereof for positivelyholding the containers to the device.

[72] Inventor WalterM. Shaffer Chesterland, Ohio [21] AppLNo. 806,359[22] Filed Mar. 12, 1969 [45] Patented Apr. 27, 1971 [73] AssigneeTowmotor Corporation Cleveland, Ohio [54} VEHICLE FOR HANDLINGCONTAINERS OF VARYING LENGTHS 8 Claims, 5 Drawing Figs.

[52] U.S.Cl 214/621, 294/67 [51] Int. Cl B66f9/18 [50] FieldofSearch214/620, 621; 294/67.4 (A), 67.2 (B), 67.2 (C), 67.2, 67.4

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,844,403 7/1958 Farmeretal.294/67(.2B)

VEHICLE FOR HANDLING CONTAINERS OF VARYING LENGTHS BACKGROUND ANDSUMMARY OF THE INVENTION A relatively new concept in material shippingknown as containerization has arisen within the last few years. Some ofthe problems facing the container-handling industry have been the lackof versatility in handling containers of different lengths and theutilization of available equipment without making numerous changes tothe equipment.

Occasionally, attempts have been made by forklift operators to liftcontainers not having fork-pockets. In order to insert the forks under acontainer, either dunnage must be used beneath the container or theforks must be inserted under the container by force. The use of dunnage,of course, creates wasted space and the insertion of the forks by forceoften causes damage.

Although the International Organization for Standardization hasrecommended standard dimensions for containers, many of the containersutilized are not in accordance with those recommendations and it hasproven to be difficult to handle all of the standard and nonstandardcontainers with a single piece of equipment while avoiding numerousparts changes.

At the present time, railroads and shipping companies desire to procuremachinery and equipment which can handle the'increasing number ofcontainers having standard comer castings. Most companies will not wishto maintain an inventory of frames to support the various lengths ofcontainers which they will have to handle.

For these reasons, the subject invention has been developed whichrelates to' a variable length container-handling device suitable forpicking up standard 8 ft. X 8 ft. cross section containers by theircomer castings, even though the containers may have different lengths.

It is therefore an object of this invention to provide an improvedcontainer-handling vehicle.

It is also an object of this invention to provide a containerhandlingvehicle capable of maneuvering containers having a wide variety oflengths but having a standard cross section.

It is also an object hereof to provide a container-handling handlingdevice capable of handling a number of empty or lightly loadedcontainers at one time.

Other objects and advantages of the present invention will becomeapparent from the following description and claims as illustrated in theaccompanying drawings which, by way of illustration, show a preferredembodiment of the present invention and principles thereof and what isnow considered to be the best modes contemplated for applying theseprinciples. It is recognized that other embodiments of the inventionutilizing the same or equivalent principles may be used, and structuralchanges may be made as desired by those skilled in the art, withoutdeparting from the present invention and purview of the appended claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a plan view of a deviceaccording to the present invention, mounted on a suitable vehicle;

FIG. 2 is a front elevation of a preferred embodiment of thecontainer-handling device;

FIG. 3 is an end view of the device according to the present invention;

FIG. 4 is an illustration of one of the means on the device for lockinga container thereto; and

FIG. 5 is an elevation, similar to FIG. 2, of an alternate embodiment ofthe invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Referring now to the embodiment ofthe invention shown in FIGS. l-4, there is illustrated a lift truck 11upon which are mounted horizontal box section members 13 and 15. The boxsection members movably support lifting assemblies 17 on either endthereof through telescopic interaction which is controlled by hydrauliccylinders 19 fastened between frame sections 21 and 23 and the liftingassemblies.

The lifting assemblies 17 have horizontal, forward extending arms 25 atthe upper portions thereof. The arms contain twist locks 27 on theunderside of the outer extremity thereof. Horizontal pins 29 arepositioned near the inner extremities of the arms by means of blocks 31which are mounted at the intersection of the box section members and thearms.

When a container, such as that shown in phantom at 33 in FIG. 3, is tobe picked up by a vehicle utilizing the device, the arms 25 arepositioned according to the length of the container by actuation of thecylinders 19 in a manner wellknown in the art. With the mast of the lifttruck tilted backward, the pins 29 are engaged in in the side holes ofthe casting at the near top corners of the container; the clearanceprovided by the blocks 31 permits this to be accomplished.

As the mast returned from the tilt position, the twist locks 27 may beinserted in the top holes of the castings in the far top comers of thecontainer. The twist locks may then be rotated by hydraulic cylinders(not shown), in a well-known manner, to lock the arms 25 to thecontainer.

The container may then be elevated and transported by the lift truck toits desired destination. The detachment of the container from the lifttruck merely involves reversal of the above procedure.

When a number of empty or lightly loaded containers are to be handled, aset of relieved pins 35, on the inside edges of the front and rearextremities of the arms 25, can be inserted into the holes in thecastings in the top outside corners of the bottom container in a stackto be handled. Of course, the number of containers which can be handledsimultaneously in this manner is limited by the rated capacity of theunit and the stability of the stack of containers.

Referring now to the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 5, it can be seenthat most of the parts of the device are identical to those alreadydescribed and, as such, have been given identical labels. However, themachine illustrated may be utilized to handle containers of much greaterlength than those handled by the previously described embodiment.

In order to accomplish this increase in machine capability, the lengthof the telescoping members within the horizontal box section members 13must be increased and the hydraulic cylinders 39 must be longer, asshown in the drawings.

In the first embodiment, the cylinders 19 could be less than one-halfthe length of the support member since only a relatively smalladjustment of the distance between the arms would be required.

However, when it is desired to extend the arms a great distance apart soas to handle much longer containers, this result can be achieved byutilizing much longer cylinders-for example, at least one-half thelength of the support member, or more, as shown.

In both of the embodiments described, the container handling device maybe detachably applied to a fork-type carriage with the forks removed ina well-known manner.

The Applicant has thus described two embodiments of machinery utilizingthe invention. Obvious alterations and modifications will quickly bevisualized by those skilled in the art, without exceeding the purview ofthe following claims.

Iclairn:

1. In a container-handling device, means for mounting the device on avehicle, support means fixed to the mounting means, a pair of forwardlyextending, generally horizontally disposed, arms mounted on the upperportion of the support means, means on the arms for positively holding acontainer when inserted into corner apertures of the container, saidholding means including twist lock means on the underside of the armsadjacent the forward end thereof, said holding means also including pinmeans mounted on said support means adjacent the intersection of thearms and the support means, and means mounting the pin means formaintenance of clearance between a container and the support means,thereby allowing the support means and arms to be tilted relative to thecontainer when the pin means are within their respective apertures whilethe twist lock means are not within their respective apertures.

2. The device of claim 1 including means mounted on the support meansfor adjusting the amount of separation between the arms.

3. The device of claim 2 wherein the adjustment means comprise at leastone hydraulic cylinder means which, when retracted, is not longer thanone-half the length of the support means.

4. The device of claim 2 wherein the adjustment means comprise at leastone hydraulic cylinder means which, when retracted, is at least as longas one-half the length of the support means.

5. The device of claim 1 including means mounted on the support meansfor relatively moving the anus toward one another so that the pin meanscan positively grip a container when inserted into apertures on theupper side comers thereof.

6. The device of claim 1 wherein said support means comprises agenerally vertically oriented member to which said horizontally disposedarms are attached.

7. The device of claim 6 wherein said pin means comprises a plurality ofgenerally horizontally-oriented pins whereby said pins may be insertedin side holes of a container casting for holding a container.

8. The device of claim 7 wherein said twist lock means comprises avertically, downwardly extending twist lock on the underside of each ofsaid arms whereby said twist locks may be inserted in top holes of acontainer casting for holding a container.

2. The device of claim 1 including means mounted on the support meansfor adjusting the amount of separation between the arms.
 3. The deviceof claim 2 wherein the adjustment means comprise at least one hydrauliccylinder means which, when retracted, is not longer than one-half thelength of the support means.
 4. The device of claim 2 wherein theadjustment means comprise at least one hydraulic cylinder means which,when retracted, is at least as long as one-half the length of thesupport means.
 5. The device of claim 1 including means mounted on thesupport means for relatively moving the arms toward one another so thatthe pin means can positively grip a container when inserted intoapertures on the upper side corners thereof.
 6. The device of claim 1wherein said support means comprises a generally vertically orientedmember to which said horizontally disposed arms are attached.
 7. Thedevice of claim 6 wherein said pin means comprises a plurality ofgenerally horizontally-oriented pins whereby said pins may be insertedin side holes of a container casting for holding a container.
 8. Thedevice of claim 7 wherein said twist lock means comprises a vertically,downwardly extending twist lock on the underside of each of said armswhereby said twist locks may be inserted in top holes of a containercasting for holding a container.